It was a situation where everyone already had their mouths opened in shock, but it was natural to show that kind of reaction. Kim Hyun-Sung’s actions weren’t the actions of someone who had been here for less than a year, so it didn’t simply mean that he had high stats. Currently, Kim Hyun-Sung was showing movements of a person that had twice his stats. Of course, I wasn't in a position to evaluate him since I didn't have a melee job, but if even I, someone who knew nothing, could tell that there was something special about him, then there was nothing more to say about the others. It was obvious what Choi Young-Ki of the Red Mercenary Guild and the others were thinking.

‘A monster.’

Or…

‘A genius.’

It was written all over their faces and of course, Kim Hyun-Sung wasn’t the only one that was receiving compliments. The firepower that Jung Ha-Yan and I were showing with our magic was beyond their imaginations. Honestly, I had to rely on Jung Ha-Yan for more than half of my magic, but I was able to leave a good impression on everyone when I used magic on the monsters in situations where I didn't have to set a limit.

It was the same for Sun Hee-Young, who was taking care of Park Deok-Gu, and Kim Ye-Ri, who was doing her part. At this moment, we looked like a perfectly synced team.

If I were to exaggerate a bit, it was to the point that hunting was now fun. The catharsis that I felt when everything fell in place couldn’t be easily felt during a hunt and it would be shocking to feel that in the first place.

But it was interesting how the hunt could change this much when our loveable regressor took the lead.

‘He’s definitely different.’

At least from my standards, we were showing what a perfectly synced party looked like.

While I continued reciting the spell, I quietly glanced at Jung Yoo-Ra and saw how shocked she was.

‘It’s understandable.’

The hunt was the source of her unknown confidence. Despite what people thought about her, I was sure that it was part of her plan to take the villain’s position within the expedition. No matter what kind of decision she made, it wasn’t going to change her bad image. But since she volunteered to take the role of the villain, the dungeon control became possible. Seeing her plan falling apart made me laugh.

“Next.”

After casting a spell as if I was possessed, I used the spell. Every time a large monster fell, I felt a tingling sensation inside me. The more Jung Yoo-Ra frowned, the higher the corner of my lips went up. At the end, when all the monsters in front of us fell, a strange silence filled the hall. With a dumbfounded look, I looked at Kim Hyun-Sung to confirm whether the fight just now actually happened. I guess Choi Young-Ki felt uncomfortable by the long silence because he spoke first.

“I guess there really is a genius in the party.”

“You flatter me. All I did was imitate what all of you were doing,” Kim Hyun-Sung said.

“That’s not true. I wouldn’t be able to imitate anyone here and it’s not simply because you have good stats. I guess describing you as a warrior with a lot of experience would be the better description. Honestly, I feel a bit ashamed towards you and your party members, Mr. Hyun-Sung,” Choi Young-Ki said.

“That’s…”

“I feel like your party members have changed a lot overall. Truthfully when the Blue Guild recruited you guys at an expensive price, I thought maybe they were overdoing it, but seeing all of you in action made me think that they made the right choice. I’m sure it won’t be long until the Blue Guild recovers their glory days.”

“I’m embarrassed,” Kim Hyung-Sung said.

“Hahaha. If you become famous later, don’t forget about us,” Choi Young-Ki said.

We should never forget about someone like Choi Young-Ki.

‘I’ll be sure to treat you well later.’

It was obvious, but Choi Young-Ki wasn’t the only person that changed their thoughts about us. I felt a bit dazed, but thanks to Park Deok-Gu and Kim Ye-Ri doing well, they were receiving a lot of attention and it was to the point that we were a bit late on cleaning up the monster’s corpse.

I looked through the corpse to see if there was something useful, but I didn’t see anything. Within this heartwarming atmosphere, Jung Yoo-Ra was the only person that didn’t look happy.

‘I wonder what she’s going to do next.’

I was curious about her plan because once again, she had two choices. She could either stand down in order to have a good relationship with others or stick to the attitude she had right now. Of course, in order to pick the first choice, she had to meet certain conditions. Jung Yoo-Ra needed to be thick-skinned in order to take back the words that she said and she had to throw away that pride of hers without hesitation. It looked easy, but it wasn’t easy at all.

If I were her, I would be able to do it without any hesitation, but it was a difficult thing to do for normal people and it applied to Jung Yoo-Ra more because of her position. Those that were truly in a high position knew how to throw away their pride if it meant protecting the things that were valuable to them. Politicians and entrepreneurs bowed for the people.

It was none of my business whether those people called us pigs or rodents behind our backs, but they at least apologized and respected us to our faces. However, people in an uncertain position couldn’t do it so easily because their own pride was the most important. As such, they would think that lowering their heads was humiliating.

It was probably my personal opinion, but people like me could probably be categorized into the first and second class at the same time.

‘I wonder which side you’re on, Yoo-Ra.’

She wore a complicated look.

‘Are you a first-class or second-class?’

There was a frown on her face. When I saw her open her mouth slowly, I realized the fact that she was a second-class human.

‘You should never become a politician.’

I was looking at a fight whose results were something that even I couldn’t predict. I had been looking at this fight for so long now that I felt stupid watching this invisible fight for a long time.

“I was surprised when you suddenly jumped out,” Jung Yoo-Ra said.

“What do you mean?” Kim Hyun-Sung asked.

“If you were thinking about changing positions, isn’t it only right for you to tell us first? The result wasn’t that bad, but I wish you would think about our position as well,” she answered.

“Miss Jung Yoo-Ra, right now…”

“Am I wrong? Mr. Hyun-Sung, because of you, our formation got messed up. Is there anyone else that agrees with me?” she asked.

“We were a bit surprised, but it wasn’t so unexpected that we weren’t able to handle it and it wasn’t to the point that our formation broke apart just because one swordsman jumped to the front. I’m sure you at least know that much,” Choi Young-Ki said.

“Of course, I’m not saying that he didn’t contribute at all, but that I felt a bit dumbfounded by the situation and if he was able to move like that in the first place, then shouldn’t he have done that in the beginning?” she asked.

It warmed my heart to see her talk shit like that.

“I moved cautiously before because it seemed like my party members weren’t used to the dungeon yet and Mr. Deok-Gu, along with Ye-Ri especially seemed like they were having somewhat of a hard time. But now that they’ve gotten used to it, I decided to make my move… I’m really sorry for not letting you know ahead of time,” Kim Hyun-Sung said.

“I didn’t say it to hear an apology from you, Mr. Hyun-Sung,” Jung Yoo-Ra said.

She was giving that long speech in order to maintain that petty position of hers, but of course, no one looked at her nicely. What she said wasn’t completely wrong because it was true that Kim Hyun-Sung acted out unexpectedly and the fact that Jung Yoo-Ra had been surprised by it could also be considered true.

Right now, it didn’t matter if Jung Yoo-Ra wore Kim Hyun-Sung’s shoes. Even if she pretended that she was the victim by using her acting skills, she had already lost the chance to do so because just a few hours ago, everyone scolded her and she became the most disliked person in the group. As such, it would be strange for people to look at her in favor.

“Miss Yoo-Ra, I think you’re being a bit too harsh,” Kim Hyun-Sung said.

“Who the hell does she think she is that she keeps acting that way?” someone commented.

“If she doesn’t want to compliment him, at least don’t discourage him… even if she’s jealous of the Blue Guild’s party, she shouldn’t have done that,” another said.

“Tsk. How could you say that after seeing what just happened? The one that needs to come to their senses is you, Miss Yoo-Ra, not Mr. Hyun-Sung.”

“What did you say?” Jung Yoo-Ra asked.

“I’ll repeat myself if you’d like. I’m saying it after keeping it in for so long. I don’t know what you have against us that you’re nitpicking about every little thing.”

“The things I’ve said were for the expedition,” she said.

“Bullshit… I don’t like to hear your reason.”

“You being quiet is for the expedition.”

When the Red Mercenary Guild started talking harshly, it was to the point that I felt like their actions were a bit too much. Seeing the conflict escalate made me realize that Jung Yoo-Ra’s days as a politician were over. Her face turned red and the other members of the Black Swan Guild tried to fix the situation, but it couldn’t be fixed anymore. To make things worse, Choi Young-Ki, the leader of the expedition who was the mediator, wore a serious look. Honestly, I wanted to criticize Jung Yoo-Ra in front of everyone as well, but I was limited by my position and couldn't do it. But I felt that I could at least fan the flames. I thought hard about how I should bring it up, but bringing up the truth wasn’t easy because I had to maintain my position as the victim.

Getting Kim Hyun-Sung’s approval was the first thing I needed to do, so when I glanced over at him, I saw him looking at me. Even though I didn’t ask him directly, he probably realized the fact that there was something I wanted to say because I was looking straight at him with shining eyes.

‘Hyun-Sung, this hyung of yours can say something right? Since talking is my specialty.’

When he saw the look in my eyes, I saw him nodding slowly. Since he gave his approval, I immediately spoke up. “Would it be okay if I said something?”

When I spoke up, their eyes landed on me.

“Yes, of course.”

Seeing their surprised looks was pretty amusing. Until now, it was fun to hide behind the walls of public opinion and watch her from a safe zone, but teasing and provoking her in public suited my taste more.

“I’m really sorry. I thought I was doing my best, but I think I caused a bit of trouble…” I said.

“No, that’s not true,” someone said, interrupting me.

“I’m especially sorry to the Black Swan Guild and especially to Miss Jung Yoo-Ra,” I added.

When I gave her a strange look, her expression changed immediately.

“Including Mr. Hyun-Sung, I had a discussion with our party members. I’m sure you all know by now that our party joined with the goal of gaining experience. It’s true that we’re the only party within the Blue Guild that’s able to participate in a rare-ranked dungeon, but with the party’s stats, we know that we’re only holding everyone back,” I explained.

“That’s not true, Mr. Ki-Young.”

“No, I feel very bad about this. I did my best in order to help everyone outside of the expedition, but I guess I was a bit lacking and Miss Jung Yoo-Ra seemed like she didn’t like what I was doing. My party members were all determined to do better, but watching the situation after the hunt just now, I think I know exactly what the problem is,” I explained.

I guess Jung Yoo-Ra thought I was going to point my finger at her because she looked anxious. It wasn’t a bad idea, but that wasn’t the answer. When I continued talking after releasing a sigh, I noticed how bewildered the others were.

“I think we’re creating a conflict.”

“Excuse me?”

“Oh…”

“I knew she wasn’t really fond of us, but I didn’t think she’d be this uncomfortable and we didn’t come here to create a situation like this, so… I would like to apologize to everyone here,” I said.

“It’s nothing.”

“I definitely know just how important the atmosphere of the expedition party is when they participate in a dungeon capture like this. Before entering the dungeon, I noticed that some of the sunbaes wrote something similar in their memoirs. It’s very unfortunate, but… I don’t think I can cause any more trouble and disrespect,” I told them.

“Wait, that’s…”

I heard voices of people panicking from all over the place and I honestly wanted to say my final statement, but I felt that it would be best if the party leader said it. Kim Hyun-Sung, who was deep in his thoughts, nodded and then spoke. “I think it’s only right for the Blue Guild’s party to return.”

‘Good teamwork.’

I was very proud of the fact that he understood my thoughts and of course, the mood changed rapidly after everyone heard what he said.

“No, there’s really no need for your party to do that. It’s someone else that caused the problem…”

“You don’t have to do that. It was someone else that created the conflict…”

The public opinion that used to be my shield was now a spear that started stabbing the Black Swan Guild and as expected, Choi Young-Ki was deep in his thoughts. However, as someone that was from the Red Mercenary Guild, I thought there was only so much he was able to say.

“Your party has been helpful to us and actually, you guys are working harder than we expected. Mistakes were made, but they were understandable and it’s actually someone else that’s been creating conflict,” he explained.

‘Things are going well so far.’

“Miss Jung Yoo-Ra,” he said.

“...”

“I’m sorry for saying this and I understand that it must’ve been hard all this time, but… I think there’s something you need to understand in order for this expedition to continue smoothly,” Choi Young-Ki said.

“What are you…”

“Taking your hard work into consideration, we’ll allow you to take ownership of some of the by-products that came out from this dungeon,” he said, interrupting her.

“Are you really…”

“I would like to suggest that you leave the expedition,” he said.

The scene that was in my head was finally completed.